AKP deputy's son caught bribing customs to smuggle two vehicles into Syria

Duvar English 

Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy Ahmet Akay's son Hasan Akay was caught bribing a customs official to smuggle two vehicles into Syria, the daily BirGün reported on Nov. 30. 

According to BirGün, Akay is currently being probed over bribing a public official and the case file includes pictures of the act. 

The initial investigation was launched by the Urfa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office into two individuals, Ahmet Yılmaz and İsmail Akdemir, for smuggling tobacco products. Akay was included in the investigation later on, after authorities determined that he bribed Mustafa Ataman, the deputy manager at Akçakale Customs Office, to smuggle vehicles into Syria. 

According to the indictment, Akay bribed Ataman on Dec. 5, 2020. The illegal act was documented with cameras and wires placed in Ataman's room. 

The indictment said that the vehicles crossed into Syria, but what they were carrying remains unknown. 

Ataman, in his defense, said that he doesn't remember receiving money from Akay. 

The indictment included the conversation between the suspects in the room on Dec. 5, 2020, which showed that Ataman was afraid of being sacked by the district governor. 

"Who can dismiss you when we're supporting you?" the deputy's son asks in return. 

"You are from the Black Sea region. You are of the same region as [President Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan. Who can do something to you?" Akay further asks. 

When asked to comment, AKP deputy Ahmet Akay told BirGün that the incident is not "news material." 

"If my son is guilty, he'll be handed a sentence by the court," the deputy said. 

Akay previously made headlines for selling fuel oil worth millions of liras to the Akçakale Municipality.